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Arun Mohanty in Moscow
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived from St Petersburg to a hearty welcome in Moscow on Monday afternoon.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, along with some of his Cabinet colleagues and top officials, was present at Vnukovo airport to welcome Vajpayee.
Vajpayee is the first Indian prime minister to begin his visit to Russia from St Petersburg, known as the country's cultural capital for its splendid museums and magnificent palaces.
Trans-border terrorism and the situation in and around Afghanistan and Pakistan are likely to dominate Vajpayee's talks with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Tuesday.
"We have a similarity of views on most pressing international issues including the vital question of terrorism," said Vajpayee in an interview to the state-run Russian television channel RTV.
"India and Russia have been fighting terrorism for a number of years, and I am happy that other nations are joining it," he said.
While India has been battling separatist terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir, Russia has been fighting rebels in Chechnya. Both believe that Afghanistan, where the United States is conducting strikes against the Taleban regime, is a breeding ground for terrorists.
Vajpayee, describing terrorism as the gravest challenge to mankind and the main danger to peace, stability and a civilised world order in the new century, called for the widest possible international cooperation on the issue.
Apart from a summit with President Putin that will be followed by delegation-level discussions, Vajpayee will hold talks with Gennady Seleznyov, speaker of the Duma, the Lower House of the Russian parliament, Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and others.
Agreements to be signed during the visit will cover several areas -- political and strategic, energy, science and technology, communications and banking.
Moscow State University, one of the largest and most prestigious academic institutes in the world, will confer an honorary doctorate on Vajpayee during the visit.
Vajpayee will also meet representatives of the Indian community in Moscow.
The Indian Business Alliance, umbrella organisation of Indian companies operating in Russia, will present a cheque for US$24,000 to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
It will also give him a special issue of the Business Messenger journal containing interviews and articles from top Russian personalities and dedicated to Vajpayee's visit to Russia.
Indo-Asian News Service
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